The West Bengal Primary
Education Act promulgated as early as in 1973 and amended from time to
time vests in the West Bengal Board of Primary Education the development
both in quantitative and qualitative terms, supervision, management and
control of the entire primary education in West Bengal. The Board claims
uniqueness on two distinct counts:
* In the whole country the Board is the only one that has been created
and entrusted with the sole authority to manage, supervise, develop and
control primary education in the state.
* Quite in tune with the avowed policy of the State Government, the Board,
a democratically elected autonomous body, symbolizes democratization and
decentralization of the entire primary education in the State. As many
as 19 District Primary School Councils in the districts, all democratically
elected bodies, work for primary education under the aegis of the Board
which is headed by its President, who is assisted by an Executive Secretary.
A resume, however of powers & functions of the Board including those
vested in it by the West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973 is given below:
A resume however, of the powers and functions of the Board including those
vested in it by the West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973 is given below:
* Framing up of the syllabi and curriculum of the Primary Stratum of School
education and developing learning competency based text-books for the
students of the Primary level.
* Preparing and providing books to be studied in the Primary Schools.
* According approval to setting up Primary Schools on the basis of the
quota of the Schools fixed by the State Government.
* Prescribing the curriculum, the syllabus and the Courses of Studies
of the Primary Teachers' Training Institutes.
*Granting recognition to Primary Teachers' Training Institutes to be
run by Registered Societies without any financial assistance from The
Government.
* Conducting Primary Teachers' Training Examination.
* Awarding Diplomas, Certificates, Prizes, Scholarships in respect of
any examination conducted by the Board.
* Holding Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation as school-based
evaluation system, an External Evaluation (at the end of Class II) and
finally a Diagnostic Achievement Test at the class IV to ascertain gaps
in learning-competencies in order to ensure remedial teaching-learning)
both at Board level and District level with co-operation from the District
Primary School Councils and other district authorities namely District
Magistrate, Sabhadhipati, Sabhapati of Panchayet Samity and BDO's (of
all the blocks) and other organisations and distinguished persons in the
district.
* Conducting need based extensive teacher-orientation programmes to empower
teachers for imparting proactive, participatory and joyful instructions.
* Developing teacher guide books / manuals, teacher orientation modules
along with Course-books of different classes on different languages at
the Primary stage.
* Transferring any teacher or non-teaching staff from a Primary School
within the jurisdiction of one Primary School Council to another Primary
School Council.
* Transferring any officer or employee other than the Secretary and the
Finance Officer, from one Primary School Council to another Primary School
Council or to the Board or from the Board to a Primary School Council.
* Exercising general supervision and control over the work of the Primary
School Councils and for that purpose to issue such instructions to the
Primary School Councils relating to Primary Education and to call for
reports from the Primary School Councils on matters relating to Primary
Education.
* Advising the State Government on all matters relating to Primary Education
referred to it by the State Government.
* Performing such other functions and discharge such other duties as may
be prescribed by the rules made or notifications or orders issued by the
State Government under the Act of 1973.
* School sports - awarding scholarships, distribution of clothes to the
students of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar State Sports School, Banipur, 24 Pgs. (N)
before festival.
* Undertaking projects in collaboration with national & international
agencies such as NCERT, NIEPA, NCTE, UNICEF, BRITISH COUNCIL, EUROPEAN
COMMISSION etc.